QUARTERLY NEWSLETTERS: Reports, News on Women and Children from

Southern Burma and Activities by Woman and Child Rights Projects (WCRP) in southern
Burma

Woman and Child Rights Project (Southern Burma) Issue No.2, June 2010
Report: Voices of the Displaced Woman and Child Rights Project (Southern Burma)
Report:
Issue No.2, June 2010
Women and Children
Introduction
Voices of the Displaced Women
Methodology
Background and Children
The Threat Introduction
Property
In April 2010, the New Mon State Party (NMSP) refused to transform
Employment their armed wing, the Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA), into a
Food and Resources State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) controlled Border Guard
Education Force (BGF). During meetings regarding the BGF, Maj-Gen Ye Myint of
Health and Sanitation the SPDC warned that if the NMSP that if they did not accept the BGF
Hopes for the Future proposal then the SPDC would regard the NMSP on pre-1995 ceasefire
terms.1 Thus when the NMSP rejected the proposal, a return to open
Conclusion
armed conflict was feared. In response, six hundred villagers from
New: NMSP-controlled areas of Mon State, principally areas around Bee
Pg:3 American Specialist Children’s Hospital Ree and Tavoy districts, terrified by the possibility of violent conflict
in Moulmein Overflowing with Patients between NMSP  and  SPDC soldiers,  fled to  Halockhanee  and Bleh-
Features: Donephia which are resettlement sites for Internally Displaced Persons
Pg:6 Celebrations for the 65th birthday (IDPs)  near  Thailand’s  border.  The  fleeing  population  was  mainly
comprised of children, women, elderly people and disabled veterans.
of Daw Aung Suu Kyi
Pg:7 Fleeing Prying Eyes; A Mothers Search
for Safety

IDP - Internally Displaced Persons

MNEC - Mon National Education Committee

MNHC - Mon National Health Committee

Photo by WCRP

MRDC - Mon Relief and Development

Committee

NMSP - New Mon State Party
SPDC - State Peace and Development Council
TBBC - Thailand-Burma Border Consortium
The new arrivals IDPs from Bee Ree and Tavoy in Halockhanee
1  “New  Mon  State  Party  announces  final  ‘government  militia’  decisi on”,  The
Independent  Mon  News  Agency,   April  24,  2010:    available  at  http://monnews.org/
p=258

1

A message from
Woman and Child Rights
Project
The Woman and Child Rights Project
(WCRP), southern Burma, was founded
in 2000 by the Human Rights Foundation
of Monland (HURFOM) in order to
monitor and protect the rights of
women and children and to focus
international attention on Burma in
order to pressure the Burmese military
regime -- the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC) -- to
uphold the rights of women and
children.
WCRP's main aim is to promote and
protect the rights of women and
children according to the CEDAW and
the CRC, which were both ratified by the
regime. WCRP implements various
alternative activities to expose how the
SPDC and its Burmese Army continually
violate women and children's rights and
ignore the CEDAW and CRC.
WCRP’s objectives are:
 To  monitor and protect  women
and children's rights by: collecting
information,  monitoring  the
situation  inside  and  distributing
information  to  the international
community
 To  strengthen  women  and
children in their communities by
teaching them about their rights,
according to the CEDAW and CRC
and encouraging them to protect
these  rights..
Issue No. 2
June 2010
Once in  Halockhanee the newly-arrived IDPs did not  have  regular access to
basic necessities like food, water, housing, clothing, healthcare or education,
and were unable to find daily work or any reliable source of income. This influx
of villagers from increasingly unstable regions in southern Burma to the border
area  is  only  one  example  of  continual  displacement  along  the  border.
Throughout this report, WCRP will show the increasing need for a safe place
for  the  IDPs  from  Bee  Ree  and  Tavoy,  either  in  specially  constructed  semi-
permanent camps on the border in Thailand, or in existing refugee camps in
Thailand currently inaccessible to the IDPs.
Methodology
Field reporters from WCRP interviewed 13 of the 26 families that were living in
a Mon National Education Committee school in Halockhanee IDP resettlement
site and 2 families from Blehdonephai IDP resettlement site. 57 of the 74 people
that we  interviewed were children (18-years-old and under). The rest were
women, disabled veterans and the elderly. Data was primarily collected through
qualitative interviews and observations from field reporters.
Background
The SPDC and Non-State Armed Groups (NSAGs, or insurgent ethnic armies),
which call for democracy and ethnic rights, and smaller insurgent groups that
have splintered from NSAGs, have been engaged in a civil war since the 1960s.
In areas heavily affected, like the southern part of Ye township in Mon State
and Tavoy district in Tenasserin division, villagers regularly  flee  to the Thai-
Burma  border  or  illegally  enter  surrounding  countries  for  safety.  The  IDP
population along the border is in constant flux and resources are inadequate
to properly support the regular influxes or even the permanent population.
In 1989, when Burmese troops attacked and overran Three Pagodas Pass, which
was then the center of NMSP control, over 12,000 civilians from Mon State fled
to Thailand. Villagers living in conflict areas throughout southern Burma also
fled. To aid the fleeing villagers, the Royal Thai Authority (RTA) together with
non-government and community-based organizations built new refugees camps
on  the  Thai  side  of  the  border  and  gave  official  refugee  status  to  already
established but informal camps. This allowed organizations to deliver aid more
easily and regularly. Refugees lived in  these camps until the 1995 ceasefire
agreement between the NMSP and the SPDC. After the ceasefire, RTA declared
Mon State to be stable, closed or relocated many of the camps and pushed the
refugees back into Burma.
While the ceasefire gave autonomy and control to the NMSP in certain regions
of Mon State, conflict persisted in many areas. Regions where fighting continued
(either between the SPDC and NMSP or between the SPDC and splinter groups)
were deemed by the SPDC to  be “black  areas”. These areas are still heavily
militarized and human rights abuses persist within them. The SPDC considers
these areas “free fire zones” and SPDC soldiers are ordered to shoot at will.
2
Issue No. 2
June 2010

NEWS:
American Specialist Children’s Hospital in Moulmein Overflowing
with Patients
July 28, 2010
WCRP: More children in Mon State are getting
sick this year than last year and hospitals are strug-
gling to keep up. The American Specialist
Children’s Hospital in Moulmein was full in May.
Since June, patients have been sharing beds and
sleeping on the floor. The hospital, which mainly
treats children from the Thanbyuzayat area, has
two hundred and fifteen beds. Children are sleep-
ing three to a bed and patients continue to arrive.
“Even though the hospital has a lot of beds, there
aren’t enough for my child and he has to sleep on
the floor,” said one patient’s mother.
“Last month there were over seven hundred pa-
tients in the children’s hospital. This month that
number has increased to over one thousand,” said
a nurse from the Children’s Hospital. Neighbors
living near to the hospital have seen many new
children arrive daily, but very few leave.
The nurse added, “During the months of June and
July more than twenty children have died from in-
fluenza and other contagious diseases.” This month
is expected to be worse for all patients, as influenza
and other contagious diseases are spreading quickly
among the children in the overcrowded hospital.
Patients who need blood transfusions told WCRP’s
field reporter that the hospital’s supply of blood is
very low and that blood had to be obtained from
Moulmein Hospital.
It is not only patients in Moulmein that are suffering
due to overcrowded hospitals. Myawaddy and
Kawkareik Hospitals in Karen State have also re-
ported that they do not have enough beds to keep up
with the influx of patients. With illness expected to
increase as the rainy season continues, there does
not look to be an end to this problem in the near
future.

When the RTA tried to push refugees back to Burma, many opted not to return to their native villages deep in Mon State (which
were in black areas) because of the continued conflict. Instead they moved to Halockhanee, Bee Ree and Tavoy IDP resettlement
sites.

Halockhanee is situated in Burma on the Thai border. Halockhanee IDP resettlement site was founded in 1994, and it includes
Baleh-hanee, Kyaiksoimon, Baleh-Donphia, Hteewadoh, Kyaungkwee and Chedaik villages. The area between and including Baleh-
hanee and Kyaiksoimon villages is often also referred to locally as Halockhanee, close to Ban Don Yang, the refugee camp on the
Thai side of the border in Sangkhlaburi District. The resettlement sites are clusters of villages, and often resemble the native
villages of their inhabitants.

Bee  Ree  IDP  resettlement  site  is  next  to  NMSP  headquarters,  and  was  founded  in  1996.  It  includes  Johaprao,  Pananbein,
Suwanaphum and Burksurk villages. The Tavoy IDP area was also founded in 1996 and it includes Meipzeip, Kronebaing, Jaodon,
Wengnaike and Torlawi villages.

A July-December 2009 programme report by the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) estimated that there were 41,000
IDPs in the ceasefire areas of Mon State and 6,700 in Tenasserin Division. These numbers are acknowledged by TBBC to be lower
than the actual population as they do not include those in hiding, only those in IDP resettlement sites. Additionally, not reflected
in the estimations are children under 5, families who reside in the resettlement sites for short spans of time, and new arrivals.

Article 338 of the 2008 Burmese constitution states that “All the armed forces in the Union shall be under the command of the
Defence Services”.2 Following this stipulation, the SPDC attempted to convert all NSAGs into a Border Guard Force (BGF), which

2 
Constitution  of  the  Republic  of  Myanmar,  Article  338

3
 Issue No. 2
June 2010

would put soldiers from NSAGs under the control of the SPDC. The regime underwent several rounds of negotiations with the
NMSP and several other NSAGs, in hopes of converting troops into the BGF before the 2010 elections. The NMSP’s final rejection
of the BGF was on April 22, 2010. Before the NMSP’s final rejection of the BGF, the leader of the SPDC’s Southeast Command
announced that NMSP-controlled areas would return to “pre-ceasefire conditions” or “free fire zones” if the NSMP refused to join
the BGF. 

In response to the NMSP’s rejections of the BGF, SPDC troops began repositioning and hundreds of people, remembering and
fearing a return of the fighting, abandoned their homes in NMSP-controlled areas and fled to Halockhanee.

The Threat
The majority of those interviewed by WCRP were originally from conflict areas in Mon State, like Ye and Tavoy Townships, before
moving to the NMSP-controlled areas. Many of them had already lived through years of war before they relocated.

The SPDC’s policy of transforming ceasefire groups into BGFs and the threatened consequences of non-compliance  with the
policy created instability in NMSP-controlled  areas and threatened border stability. When the  NMSP refused to comply with
SPDC’s proposed BGF, it started preparing for an attack from the SPDC. During negotiations regarding the BGF, the SPDC increased
counter-insurgency activities against all of the splinter groups in Ye and Tavoy Townships. These attacks, while targeting splinter
groups, were  viewed as a warning to the NMSP.  Further, as the deadline of April 22 approached, battalions from the SPDC’s
Southeast Brigade repositioned closer to NMSP-controlled areas.

Three SPDC battalions, which were assumed to be from the Southeast Command, were reported by other villagers and by the
NMSP to be heading towards NMSP central headquarters and surrounding areas. This information quickly trickled down to villagers
by means of radio reports from exile media, village headmen and warning calls from family members. In response, the villagers
prepared to vacate all target areas.

In NMSP-controlled areas, villagers are provided with some security but resources are insufficient to extend this guarantee to
periods  of live conflict.  Taking their cue from the warnings of  their neighbors and NMSP leaders, villagers  decided  to go to
Halockhanee to escape  potential fighting. A 28-year-old woman explained her reasons for fleeing: “I am afraid.  I heard they
[NMSP and SPDC] will fight soon. I am afraid of war. If war happens I can’t run with my two daughters. NMSP is certain of fighting,
because they did not agree to the Border Guard Force.” Her 40-year-old neighbor expressed similar sentiments: “After the NMSP
told the SPDC that they would not agree to the BGF, we thought the ceasefire was broken and fighting would start immediately.
At that time, the situation was very unstable. We were afraid.” A 30-year-old Mon woman said, “I heard that the situation was not
good in my village. The headman told us that the NMSP did not agree to join the BGF, so they [SPDC and NMSP] will start fighting.
I was so shocked … that I  forgot I was pregnant for a  couple hours. All I cared about was leaving, running and  escaping  the
fighting.”

Families with children were particularly worried that if they did not leave immediately, they would not be able to escape with
their children once the fighting had commenced. A 36-year-old mother of three said, “I am afraid because I heard they will start
shooting each other on the 27 or 28 [of April]. If I hadn’t moved I would have been left there [in Chaik Daik]. If they are shooting
it will be difficult to run with my children.”

Traveling to Halockhanee from Bee Ree and Tavoy is difficult to navigate by car during the rainy season because of the flooding,
which washes away the dirt roads on the steep mountain passes. A 36-year-old mother from Bee Ree explained this:

“I plan  to stay here [Halockhanee] for raining season because if they suddenly  start fighting, I won’t be able to run with my

children during the rainy season. I will wait until the situation is calm, before I try to move again. If the situation continues like
this, I will not return home, I don’t know where I’ll go but I will not return to Chaik Daik.”

Strategically, SPDC troops can come from battalions stationed in Three Pagodas Pass or from those in Ye township. Bee Ree and
Tavoy districts are located between these points, and would be caught easily in the middle if troops advanced from both stations.
Baleh-Donephia IDP resettlement site was also considered by the villagers, but it is in a similar position, as well as

4
Issue No. 2
June 2010

being located very close to NMSP headquarters,
the likely target for any SPDC attacks. If the troops
moved, the villagers would be trapped in Baleh-
Donephia just as easily as had they remained in
Bee Ree or Tavoy. A 42-year-woman from Tavoy
explained her feelings of defenselessness:

“We  are  afraid  to  die.  We  are  scared  of  war.
Although  we  don’t  have  our  property,  we  are
putting our lives first. They [NMSP members] did
not decide for us, but they do not want us to go
back. Many  people after they come  here went

photo by kaowao
back. They were worried about their houses and
their  property.  The  NMSP  wi ll  not  take
responsibility  for  the  people  who  went  back.
When  they  [NMSP  and  SPDC]  start  shooting,
villagers have to run and hide by themselves.”
Mon villager way to Halockhanee
Property
The villagers explained to WCRP field reporters that when they fled, they put their safety first and were too scared and worried to
think about their property. Most of the fleeing villagers had only had enough time to pack small bags of clothes. At the time of
WCRP’s visit, approximately half of the villagers had returned because they could not afford necessities such as food and medicine
in Halockhanee. The remaining people spoke of how their safety and the safety of their families is more important than the things
they left behind. One mother explained her feelings: “I am afraid and worried, but I do not think about my property first. I think
about my life and my children. If I lose my property it’s okay, because I will still be alive. If I am alive I can survive.”

Despite their clear priorities, the concern of the villagers for their houses and plantations is obvious. The villagers fled at the time
of year when much work has to be done in preparation for monsoon season. Thatch roofs must be repaired, food must be stored
for the following year, rice paddies must be planted and properties must be readied for the rains. The houses and properties they
have left behind are not prepared for the relentless daily downpours, and if and when they return, they will find their plantations
overgrown, and houses destroyed. Jobs and livelihoods will be lost.

Some of them had to sell their livestock and other property in a hurry and for lower prices, while others just left their belongings.
A 42-year-old Karen woman said, “Before we came here, we sold our property for very cheap. Pigs are normally sold for 30,000-
40,000 kyat. We sold them for 20,000 kyat each.” Another woman explained, “I would have preferred to stay in my village. We left
our home and our rice plantation.” A younger woman was visibly upset: “We have lost everything that belonged to us.”

Employment
Reliable work is very difficult to find in Halockhanee and permanent residents struggle to find work and feed their families. Most
villagers  that  fled  to  the  IDP  site  from  NMSP-controlled  areas  are  having  a  hard  time  finding  jobs and  food  in  this  already
impoverished area, prompting some more desperate villagers to risk being caught in  battle and return to their villages in NMSP
areas.

A 37-year-old mother and grandmother spoke of her frustration: “When I lived in Bee Ree resettlement site, I wove sections of
thatch roofs and worked on a rice paddy ... While we are here [Halockhanee], we have no job to do and it is very difficult to get a
job. I want to work, if there is work, I will work.”

A 30-year-old Mon woman said, “When we lived in our village, we cut grass and tapped rubber trees on a plantation. I have been
looking for similar jobs in Halockhanee but I cannot find any. I liked living in my old village. I want to have a job in Halockhanee,
contintued report on Pg. 8

5

Feature:
Celebrations for the 65th birthday of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Early in the morning on June 19, more than ten
girls wearing red Mon longyi (sarong) ran out of
our house and piled into the car waiting outside.
After five minutes driving through the village, we
arrived in front of the compound where celebra-
tions were underway for Aung San Suu Kyi’s 65th
birthday.
When we got out of the car and walk through the
gates, we can see a house made of black wood.
The surrounding area is hilly and green, and over
to our left we can see the roof of the monastery
above the trees.
In front of the house there were two tables. One
table displayed a statement issued by Women’s
League of Burma for Daw Suu’s birthday, a sign-
in book and posters of Daw Suu. On the other table
was a ballot box and postcards with an image of a
voting ballot on the front with the options of “Daw
Suu’s Real Election” or “Than Shwe’s Military
Selection”. On the back of the cards were calls
from the organizations of Burma’s democracy
movement to international governments. I asked
the woman behind the table about the cards and
the ballot box. She explained that people can mark
the cards and send them to Dr. Surin Pitsuwan,
the Secretary-General of the Association of south
East Asian Nations (ASEAN). A member of the
ceremony committee said that, “The objective of
the postcards is to communicate our refusal to rec-
ognize the legitimacy of the 2010 election or to
acknowledge the results. The people of Burma
want to draw the attention of the international com-
munity in the hopes it will pressure the State Peace
and Development Council (SPDC) into entering
discussions with the ethnic minority groups.” I
asked a Mon medical nurse about how she marked
her card. She said, “I support Daw Suu because
she is trying to bring about democracy in Burma
and she is a representative of ethnic communities.
That is why I voted for her.”
The 2010 election will be neither free nor fair. The
SPDC refuses to release over 2100 political pris-
Issue No. 2
June 2010
Photo by WCRP
Celebration attendants put their votes into the ballot-box
oners including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, launches
frequent attacks against the ethnic communities, and
attempts to force ethnic armies to join the new “Bor-
der Guard Force”. The regime has not reviewed the
2008 constitution, widely recognized to be undemo-
cratic, and it has not engaged in a dialogue with the
organizations of the democracy movement or the
ethnic minorities. Rather than providing an oppor-
tunity for the Burma’s citizens to make their voice
heard, the 2010 elections will merely perpetuate and
consolidate the military’s stranglehold on the nation
and ensure the continued repression of its people.
On March 8 this year, the military government passed
new election laws. The groups who want to estab-
lish and register as a party must endorse the 2008
constitution. The constitution ensures that the armed
forces will automatically hold 25% of the seats in
the House of Representatives and the Senate, and
guarantees 33% of the seats in all state or division
parliaments for the armed forces. As such, many eth-
nic groups refuse to endorse the constitution and are
barred from establishing or registering as a party in
the 2010 elections, thus leaving many ethnic minori-
ties without a chance for representation.
Standing on the stage beneath the banner, the com-
mittee member spoke to the more than seventy people
from New Mon State Party and other border organi-
zations:
Despite the obstacles DawSuu mustovercome as a
woman in a conservative societyshe nevgivesupfight
6
Issue No. 2
June 2010
ing for freedom for the Burmese people under mili-
tary rule. She has given up her own freedom for all
the people of Burma. She does not share our
ethnicity, but she still represents ethnic minorities
in the struggle for democracy for our country. That
is why we honor her and celebrate her birthday.
Committee members gave every person a candle and
then a communal prayer was said for Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi’s long life and health. The official celebra-
tions ended with a high school student role-playing
as Daw Suu cutting the birthday cake. As is tradi-
tional in Mon society, the celebration committee pro-
vided lunch for everyone who attended. As I opened
my lunch box, the smell of delicious chicken curry
and rice came wafting out. Sitting and eating this
meal with my friends, I was reminded of many times
spent eating spicy Mon Curry in the rice paddy with
my family in Burma.
During lunch, I chatted with some students about
the celebration. One young man said that he was
inspired by Daw Aung San Su Kyi: “I have learnt a
lot today. I didn’t know so much about Daw Suu
before, but now I do and I’m so happy and proud of
her work for the people of Burma.” A Mon girl
chimed in agreeing, “She is a brave woman. We
should try to be more like her, and to encourage oth-
ers to be like her.”
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s 65th birthday was cel-
Fleeing Prying Eyes; A Mothers Search for Safety
June 16, 2010
WCRP: Mi Cho*, a 40-year-old Mon woman, was
born, married and gave birth to her six children in
Alaesakhan village, Yebu Township, Tenasserim Di-
vision, southern Burma, however, because of in-
creased instability throughout Mon state, she was
forced to migrate to an Internally Displaced Person
(IDP) area near the border of Thailand.
In January, three village militia soldiers unexpect-
edly paid a visit to Mi Cho’s husband. Thinking it
was a friendly visit, her husband let the militia sol-
diers into his house without hesitation. Once inside
the soldiers said, “We are here to arrest you,” not
taking the charge seriously, because all previous
encounters had been social, her husband did not
7
ebrated not just along the border, but in other towns
and cities in Thailand and all around the world. While
all these people celebrated her birthday with parties
and celebrations, Daw Suu herself spent her 65th birth-
day under house arrest. The most recent term of her
house arrest was supposed to end on May 27, 2009.
Despite this, however, her sentence was unlawfully
extended after more false charges were brought re-
garding the American man who swam across Lake Inya
to arrive at her compound uninvited. After a short pe-
riod of detention at the notorious Insein prison, she
was once again placed under house arrest and there
she remains for an indefinite period, until the military
regime sees fit to grant her freedom.
The chairman of the celebration committee praised
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for her commitment to the
goals of freedom and democracy: “Daw Suu and the
National League for Democracy decided to boycott
the 2010 elections, because they will not be free or
fair. We support Daw Suu’s decision and we have hope
and faith that she will continue to fight for the people
of Burma and against our military oppressors.”
At the end of the day, after the celebrations were over,
I got to thinking about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and
the example she sets. I think that Mon women should
try to be more like Daw Suu, to bring about freedom
for the Mon people through bravery and sacrifice. I
hope that Daw Suu can spend her 66th birthday among
friends and relatives. I hope she can spend it free.
resist the arrest. The soldiers then drew a knife and
took him into custody.
Alaesakhan village is deemed a conflict area or
“black zone” by the SPDC because of active splin-
ters groups in the area. The SPDC mandates that
all villages in conflict areas have militias, called
Pyi-thu-sit, and villagers are seasonally forced to
join through a lottery system. Village militia sol-
diers are used to fight armed splinter groups, arbi-
trarily arrest villagers, and patrol their village or
surrounding areas
After the arrest, Mi Cho’s husband was given to
SPDC Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 282. He
was then accused of being in contact with the Mon
National Defense Army (MNDA), an active Mon
splinter group

in the area, and sending them food. “My husband
has not contacted any splinter group. I don’t know
why they arrested him,” Mi Cho proclaimed.
According to Kaowao, LIB No. 282 is a special
battalion that guards the Yadana Gas Pipeline, and
surrounding area. In the past, LIB No. 282 has been
ambushed by the MNDA which is led by Major
Jalon Taw who broke away from the New Mon
State Party (NMSP) last year.
Mi Cho was not home during her husband’s ab-
duction, but for weeks after, militia soldiers regu-
larly visited her house in the middle of the night.
During the visits, the soldiers would threaten her,
frighten her family and accuse her of also support-
ing the Mon splinter group. Commonly, after the
man of the family is killed or goes missing, their
wife and children are the next targets.
Two weeks after the abduction, a SPDC soldier
from LIB No. 282 informed Mi Cho that her hus-
band was still alive, “If you want to see your hus-
band, you can look for him in Tavoy town,” said
the soldier. She however does not think her hus-
band will ever be free.
By February, about a month after the abduction,
Mi Cho could not handle the harassment any more.
With no support or belongings, Mi Cho and her
six children fled to Panan pain hakot village; an
Internally Displaced Person (IDP) area within the
NMSP controlled area of Mon State. Her young-
est son was 6-months-old when they fled.
Upon arrival in Panan pain hakot, Mi Cho recon-
nected with Mi Khing, a neighbor from Alaesakhan
village who had fled a couple weeks before Mi
Cho. Mi Khing, had not yet secured a job, but she
shared her food with the newly arrived family any-
way. “When I saw her, I was so sad. She was so
disappointed in her life and cried to me. They have
many problems, now they live in a small hut made
but I cannot find any work. I have been searching, but no one will hire us. I want to go back to my village but it is not peaceful yet,
so I stay here.”
The problem is compounded as at home in their villages, most families were largely self-sufficient. In Halockhanee, as well as
employment being scarce, the soil is of poor quality and growing any kind of crop is very difficult. “At home we have a vegetable
plantation and we didn’t have any problems getting food to make curry. At home we didn’t worry about being able to make curry,
8
Issue No. 2
June 2010
of bamboo, the neighbors help them but they cannot
find enough food,” said Mi Khing.
Before Mi Cho fled, she worked at a small rubber and
Betel nut plantation, and seasonally cut grass at a neigh-
boring farm. In her old village she could earn enough
to support her family, but jobs are scarce in the IDP
area. Additionally, food, healthcare, education, land
rights, employment and travel are a constant struggle.
Of her six children, the oldest is 16-years-old and the
youngest is now 6-months-old. Her two middle chil-
dren were in 2 standard and 0 standard at a Mon Na-
tional school before they migrated. In the IDP area none
of her children have the opportunity to attend school.
Mi Cho confided in Mi Khing, “I am so depressed, I
am also afraid to go back to my village. I am worried
they [SPDC soldiers] will kill us [if we return], but our
property is there [in Alaesakhan village].” Mi Khing
explained that SPDC Soldiers had a meeting on the 25
February and later that day they announced, to the vil-
lage, that those who had fled or plan to flee are not
allowed to return.
Mi Cho does not know how long her family will be
able to survive in the IDP area or where she will head
next. Unfortunately, Mi Cho’s story is identical to so
many in the IDP area. Over the past 4 months, 100s of
residence from NMSP controlled areas have fled to IDP
areas because of increased instability in Mon State and
Tenasserim Division. Recently, because of the NMSP’s
refusal to transform into a Border Guard Force (BGF)
for the SPCD, mass fleeing has increased and rumors
continue to circulate about the longevity of the NMSP’s
15-year-old ceasefire agreement with the SPDC.
According to WCRP field reporters, most villagers flee
because of village militias (forced conscription and ha-
rassment), forced labor, accusations of contacting or
supporting a splinter group, and death threats from
SPDC soldiers.
* (Editors Note: All names have been changed for se-
curity reasons) *
Issue No. 2
June 2010

here [Halockhanee] we have to worry. I liked living at my old home. Now if we don’t have money, we can’t buy food and there is no
plantation”, explains one woman. 

Food and Resources

Food and resources were already scarce in this IDP site, and the new arrivals have struggled to sustain themselves. Villagers were
supplied with limited amounts of rice, oil, vegetables and eggs, but the supplies are barely enough. Mothers complained that their
children are hungry and that they have no milk or meat. One mother spoke of her struggles: “The amount of rice we receive from
the organizations is not enough for us. We have to ration the rice each day. We are given a very limited amount and I try to give my
children the biggest portions.” A younger woman explained, “They [MRDC] supported us; they gave us 2 kilograms of rice, and
other organizations supported us with oil and other food. I am not starving, but I do not really have enough. I do not have any meat
or fish to eat.”

Another young mother described her difficulties: “My child
has been sick, she has  a cold. I want to buy food so my
child will have energy but I do not have any money. The
supplies the organizations provided are not enough for us.
We ration the rice and save some for when our children
are hungry later. When they are hungry, we have to feed
them.”

In addition to the absence of food, other basic implements
are lacking. There are insufficient pots to go around, which
causes problems as water from the nearby stream cannot
be boiled to purify it. A 42-year-old woman said, “When I
first arrived, I wanted to drink boiled water … but we didn’t
have a pot to cook with.”

Photo by WCRP
Health and Sanitation
Health and sanitation, already a problem in the IDP site,
were  particularly  difficult  for  the  Bee  Ree  and  Tavoy
residents, as they were overcrowded in the MNEC school The children have only plain rice to eat

building.   Halockhanee medical facilities were also unable
to provide proper aid to the sudden influx of people.

Despite the fact that at the time of WCRP’s visit, over 150 people originally living in the school had left, conditions were still very
cramped for the 105 people who remained. The area was partitioned using movable blackboards and the wooden floor was caked
in dirt. Children slept five or six to a wooden table, with many more on the floor.

Mothers reported that many of their children had diarrhea (from drinking un-purified water), malaria, severe coughs, fevers,
injuries and skin infections. The interviewees felt these health problems were from the result of their unsanitary living conditions
in the cramped quarters of the MNEC school. The lack of pots to boil water with caused major problems for health and hygiene.
One mother explained her situation: “My youngest daughter had diarrhea for almost a week, I think because of the water. When
we first arrived here we could not boil water because we didn’t have a pot. So we just drank the dirty water from the stream.” A
mother of five, originally from Tavoy District said, “After we arrived here, two of my sons had diarrhea for a couple days and one of
my children has malaria and a cough.”

New arrivals to Halockhanee did not have access to sufficient healthcare or treatment for their diseases. The clinic set up by the
Mon National Health Committee (MNHC) did not have enough supplies to support the sudden influx of people from Bee Ree and
Tavoy and they could not properly treat patients or handle emergency situations. Health workers tried to share supplies but they

9
 Issue No. 2
June 2010

had  a  limited  amount  of  medicine.  Many

children  had  severe  cases  of  diarrhea  for
many  days.   When  children  went  to  the
MNHC clinic in Halockhanee, health workers
could only give them small dosages of anti-
diarrhea medicine.

A 34-year-old mother of five said, “We went
to  the  clinic  but  they  didn’t  have  any
medicine and we didn’t have any money to
buy medicine from the private pharmacy.”
Another mother described similar problems:
“When my son got diarrhea and was sick for
a week, I didn’t have any money so I couldn’t

Photo by WCRP
by medicine, and I didn’t know how else to
care for him.’’

In  addition  to  the  numerous  physical A child carrying water from the stream in the IDP camp
ailments, many women spoke of suffering
depression in the struggle to settle into their
new and difficult environment. One woman said, “My life is so depressing because I had to leave my home and everything I
worked for. Halockhanee is new to me. I have never been here before and I am not happy here.” An older woman described her
feelings of shame and desperation: “We are like beggars, if they support us we can eat, if not then we will starve.”  A mother of six
said, “In my village I can work daily and support my children so they can go to school. Here, everything is different.” the cooking,
the kitchen, the work, even sleeping, I am still adjusting. I miss my home.”

Education
The majority of the new arrivals to Halockhanee were mothers and children of all ages who had fled during the annual school
holidays. At the time of the interviews, school was scheduled to resume in June after the holidays. The children were enthusiastic
about returning to school and most seemed to understand the importance of education. A 12-year-old girl said, “If I do not study
at school this year, I will fail the standard. When I grow up, I want to be a teacher. I want to teach my sister, brother and other
students.” An 11-year-old boy said, “I want to go school, if I can’t go to school, I can’t read literature.”

Parents are committed to their children’s education and felt that it was very important that they continue to go to school. A 34-
year-old mother of five children of school age explained this: “I have been thinking about my children’s education. If they [MNEC]
allow them to attend school, where ever they send us, I will register them. I don’t want them to stop learning, education is very
important for their future.”

A Karen mother with seven children said emphatically, “Wherever we end up, if there is a school, I will register my children.”
Another  mother  with  four  children  explained,  “If  they  [MNEC]  allow  my  children  to  study  at  the  school  in  our  new  village
[Halockhanee], then I will make them continue their education even though we are very poor.”

While this is the hope of all the mothers living in the school, some are not as confident. A 42-year-old woman expressed her
concern:

“If we keep moving like this, I am afraid my children won’t be able to regularly attend school, and they will miss out on a proper
education. I was not able to finish school and I am worried they will end up like me but I have no money to pay their educational
costs. MNEC schools are free, but I cannot afford the books, clothes and other school supplies.”

10
Issue No. 2
June 2010

Invitation for Feedback to Our Publication

“The Plight”
of Women and Children in Southern Burma
Dear Readers,

In 2000, with objectives to monitor the situation of women and children in Southern  Burma and to empower
them with the rights described in CEDAW and CRC, which are both ratified by the current military regime,
our “Woman and Child Rights Project (Southern Burma)” came into existence.
Under this project, “The Plight” Newsletter is produced quarterly and focues on  the general  situation of
women and children in Burma and how their human rights are violated by the ruling regime and its army.
In a plan to evaluate our publication, we wish to get FEEDBACK from our readers.   Hence, can you kindly
send us your feedback.  If you know anyone who would like to receive the newsletter or if you wish to send
your feedback, please feel free to contact the following mailing and e-mail address.
Woman and Child Rights Project
P. O. Box 2237, General Post Office
Bangkok, Thailand 10501
E-mail: wcrpcontact@yahoo.com
Website: www.rehmonnya.org

With regards,
Project Coordinator
Woman and Child Rights Project - Southern Burma

Another mother, a 30-year old woman, explained her situation: “If I have an opportunity to register my son for school, I will, but
right now I don’t have enough money to buy his school uniform.” A 15-year-old girl spoke matter of factly: “I want to continue my
education but we do not have enough money. I need to work to help my mother earn more money, so I can’t go to school.”

Even those parents who are able to afford their children’s education are facing problems. At the time of the interviews, it was
unclear whether Nai Aung Kyaw, who is in charge of organizing the new arrivals for the MRDC, would be able to arrange for the
children to attend the school. The schools in Halockhanee are already overcrowded and could barely support the population
before the influx of arrivals from Bee Ree and Tavoy.

Whether the children can attend school or not, the beginning of the school term poses another problem: as the new arrivals
currently reside in the school building, they will have to move somewhere else, and no one knows where that will be. They were
placed in the school building in the first instance because of the serious lack of housing, and that problem has not been resolved
since their arrival. A 30-year-old woman said simply, “We just don’t know where we’ll move next.”

Hopes for the Future

All of the villagers said when the situation was safe they would return home. If the instability continues however, they will stay in
the IDP area for the entire rainy season. While they hope to return home, they cannot be guaranteed safety or stability. A 37-year-
old woman said, “If we went back, they [NMSP] would not provide us with safety.”

Interviewees stressed that they prefer to stay in Burma, and in their own village, as they believe in a traditional Burmese saying
that means, “leaving the home land is not good to do.” The interviewees explained how much they believe this, and stressed that
they want to stay in Burma, and in their home villages. A 36-year-old of mother of six said, “I am upset about leaving my life and
I am not sure where they will have us move next ... but if I hadn’t moved from my village no one would protect my children and
mother.”

11
 Issue No. 2
June 2010

Another saying is that ones dignity resides in ones

home. One woman explains how fervently she shares
this belief: “I want to go back, even though I might
die, I would rather die in my village. I do not want to
die while I am searching for a new home.” Families
repeatedly stressed that they wanted to return home
as soon as it was safe, the situation was calm, and
their villages were peaceful. A 39-year-old woman
said, “If the NMSP and SPDC do not start shooting, I
will go back and live in my house.” A younger woman
described  her  eagerness  to  return:  “Now,  I  am

Photo by WCRP
waiting for the situation to calm down. If it is peaceful
in our village tomorrow, I will go back tomorrow.”

Conclusion The IDP children from Bee Ree and Tavay in Halockhanee
In  cases  of  conflict  and  displacement  around  the
world, it is the women and the children who are the most affected. In this case, vulnerable people fleeing from the threat of
violence arrived in an IDP site already overcrowded and lacking in basic supplies. There is insufficient food, cooking utensils and
housing. There are insufficient medical supplies and an increase in disease due to poor sanitation and overcrowding. The already
strained education system cannot cope with the increase in children, and parents cannot find work to pay for any of a number of
basic needs going unmet. It is unclear when the villagers will be able to safely return to their homes. The Thai government has
blocked  access and will  not allow  them to  enter Thailand  to  go to  Ban  Don  Yang  refugee  camp,  just  across the  border from
Halockhanee. The Burmese military junta engages in continual persecution of Burma’s ethnic minorities and was the major factor
in causing this internal displacement. The feeling of hopelessness on the part of many of Halockhanee’s new arrivals is understandable.
A safe place for these people needs to be either created or made accessible. Thailand’s existing refugee camps can provide safety
from conflict, access to humanitarian aid and the possibility of earning money. Newly constructed semi-permanent camps on the
Thai side of the border would also serve these needs. The IDPs from Bee Ree and Tavoy have emphasized their desire to return to
their villages as soon as they are safe and stable and at this point it seems likely that the worst-case situation of a return to pre-
ceasefire open conflict may not eventuate; a temporary solution is all that is required. WCRP argues that the RTA must take the
necessary action to provide this solution and protect these and other vulnerable people, and thus meet its humanitarian obligations
as a regional power.

Woman and Child Rights Project (WCRP)

P. O. Box 2237
General Post Office
Bangkok 10501, Thailand
E-mail: wcrpcontact@yahoo.com
Website:www.rehmonnya.org

Address Correction Required

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